You can clear the game with just one life by relying on a useless person!

Chapter 21 The Kingdom's Barrier, the Pass of Aetheran

The Aetherland Pass, located at the break in the Ridge Mountains in the eastern part of the Western Kingdom, is the main land route connecting the kingdom's borders with its heartland.

This pass is also the core of the "Obsidian Barrier" defense line, which stretches for thousands of miles and guards the heart of the kingdom.

Its overall orientation is slightly north-south, built taking advantage of the terrain, perfectly blending the natural defenses of the Ridge Mountains with man-made fortifications. The widest part of the pass is no more than a hundred meters, with steep cliffs on both sides. The cliff walls are carved with a dense array of arrow towers and magical cannons, forming a three-dimensional defensive network from top to bottom. Even during the last dark turmoil recorded in history, it was never breached from the outside.

The main structure of the level is a sturdy fortress tens of meters high, built entirely of special obsidian. The stone was taken from a magical vein deep in the Rift Ridge Mountains and has a slight magical resistance attribute. It has withstood hundreds of years of wind, rain and war and remains indestructible.

The top of the fortress's outer wall is covered with enchanted magic arrays, and the walls themselves are engraved with ancient defensive runes. Once activated, they will form a pale blue magical barrier that covers the entire pass, strong enough to easily withstand the breath of a dragon and the continuous bombardment of high-level magic.

The word "Aetheran" in the pass comes from an ancient Western Kingdom word meaning "Guardian Light," and the fortress certainly deserves that title.

That night, this fortress, which had been untouched by war for nearly a century, was mobilized once again. The torches and magical lights illuminated the entire Aetheran Pass as if it were daytime, until the rising sun overshadowed its brilliance.

In the temporary camp outside the pass, Roland was restless, waiting for news, while repeatedly stroking an ordinary notebook in his hand, almost wearing the cover to a pulp without realizing it.

Familiar footsteps sounded outside the tent, and one of the two guards who had been following Roland entered: "Mr. Roland! We have the latest intelligence!"

Roland hurriedly took the book and glanced at it, then his eyes widened: "The entire town guard and militia of Adela have been wiped out! The town... no one survived!?"

He immediately looked at the guard, instinctively wanting to confirm the authenticity of the information, but the guard simply nodded at him.

"First-hand military intelligence from the pass is infallible."

A look of confusion flashed across Roland's eyes.

That guy... just died like that?

He instinctively refused to believe it, but the written military intelligence couldn't lie.

"..."

Roland remained silent for a long time before finally putting the intelligence away.

He still believed there was still a chance for things to turn around. After all, that person's identity was special and secretive, and it was impossible for the scouts to specifically investigate his survival. So it was not impossible that he had escaped.

He then looked at the notebook on the table, the small notebook with several pages torn out. It was the one that You Che had taken out as one of the bargaining chips when he asked for You Che's help.

"...I forgot something in town and I need to go find it, so I can't go to the capital with you for the time being."

"And I'd like to ask you for a favor, so here's the exchange. You'll know what it's for once you see it."

Yu Che's request was actually quite simple, it was just...

"Mr. Roland, it's time for breakfast."

A childish voice rang out, and Lia, dressed like a little cook, walked in, carrying freshly baked bread.

Roland's other guard followed behind her, watching her cautiously.

Roland looked at her and smiled. "Thank you, Leah. But didn't I tell you you didn't need to do these things?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the guard, who gave him an innocent look.

Roland knew that Leah had offered to help, and no one could stop her.

He took the plate from Leah and said, "You've worked hard. It's still early, go and get some rest."

Lia looked at him, keenly sensing something was wrong: "Brother Roland, has something happened?"

Roland paused slightly, wiped his face, and said, "No... it's just some trivial matters of the Chamber of Commerce, you don't need to worry."

The clever Leah already understood what was going on, but she just nodded obediently and walked out of the tent.

Roland was left with a silent sigh.

The complete annihilation of the town's garrison naturally meant the death of Leah's father...

Although Leah was a sensible and heartbreakingly strong child, Roland decided not to tell her the news for the time being.

The guard continued to report: "Mr. Roland, we have been informed from the pass that all accompanying personnel have been checked and we can proceed."

Roland looked slightly surprised: "So soon? Wasn't it supposed to be another half day?"

The guard replied, "That's true, but with the dark race's army invading the border, the entire Obsidian Line has been mobilized. They can't leave any idle people at the temporary camp."

"Most of the caravans that couldn't produce identification were expelled, but because we were a legitimate merchant caravan, we were allowed to pass through after the verification process."

Roland had actually thought of this as well. In fact, if they hadn't had so many people with them, they could have passed through customs a day earlier.

Yuche's request to Roland was actually to inform him of the impending attack by the dark races, to spread the word throughout the town, and to have the townspeople evacuate with Roland's convoy as much as possible.

You Che said at the time, "We all know that the Dark Race is coming, so why bother with all that nonsense? Just evacuate all the civilians who can't fight. After all, if they stay, they'll just be food and manpower for the Dark Race."

Roland's original caravan couldn't carry that many people, but he was rich enough to buy all the carriages, vehicles, and horses in the town, which would be enough to carry most of the common people.

At first, Roland was naturally shocked and incredulous at what Youche told him, but the evidence and top-secret information that Youche presented proved that what he said was true.

In the end, Roland agreed to Youche's request and helped evacuate the civilians. This was not only for the reward Youche offered, but also because he wanted to put his beliefs into practice.

However, upon learning that the dark race was about to launch an attack, the townspeople did not push or argue, nor did they flee in panic. Instead, they unanimously gave their chance to escape to the elderly, women, and children. Almost all the adult men, and some women, voluntarily stayed behind to serve as engineers and logistics personnel, supporting the town guard and militia.

So the actual number of people who joined the convoy was less than Yuche and Roland had expected, only about one hundred people, which was about one-fifth of the town's total population, or half of the civilians excluding the town guard and militia.

Thinking of these things, Roland's heart was filled with complex emotions, which finally turned into a long sigh: "Go and tell everyone to pack their bags and prepare to set off."

"Understood."

Once Roland was alone in the tent, he picked up the notebook, stared blankly eastward, and murmured:

"...You can't die that easily, can you? Remember to come back to me later. You've asked me to take care of so many people, and you haven't even received your payment yet."

……

Meanwhile, in the northern part of the kingdom, in the basement of an abandoned village outside the coverage of the Obsidian Defense Line, a magic circle outlined by holy light had just appeared.

Within that, You Che's figure emerged.

He lay on the ground, unconscious, still clutching a twisted half of his staff tightly in his hand.

The basement had been deserted for a long time; it was covered in dust and had a musty smell. Fortunately, it wasn't completely enclosed, and there was still some air circulation.

You Che lay motionless amidst the dust, and only after half a day did his fingers twitch slightly before he jerked up and got up from the ground.

"I...where am I...?"

The excruciating pain in my head seemed to be a side effect of a transmission malfunction.

However, this had little impact. You Che then recalled everything that had happened before, and his eyes immediately turned red.

"...Bronya!!!"

It's happening again...it's happening again! He couldn't change the ending of the prologue in the game, and he can't even do it after transmigrating!

Is it really true that the predetermined plot cannot be changed?

"ah!!"

You Che slammed his fist into the hard ground, kicking up dust.

"Cough cough—"

Coughing violently from the dust, You Che suddenly remembered something and looked at the broken staff he was holding in his left hand.

He stared at the tip of the staff, at the deep red gem that faintly glowed, and finally let out a long breath and stood up.

No, the game's plot can be changed; he just hasn't done enough preparation.

There won't be a third time.

Having made up his mind, You Che strode out of the basement.

Once on the ground, he gazed at the distant horizon, at the lingering dark clouds, and made a decision.

Going home isn't urgent anymore; that's just the ultimate goal, a prize after victory.

Before that, he wanted to emulate the ambition of a certain predecessor and expel all the dark races, leaving none alive!